The European judge deciding whether to suspend European Union sanctions against Microsoft Corp. has told the software giant to beef up its claim that compliance with an order to share some technical information would cause it irreparable harm, a source close to the process said Thursday.

Bo Vesterdorf, the president of the Luxembourg-based Europe's Court of First Instance, asked Microsoft for more evidence to back up its contention that its intellectual property rights were under threat if forced to divulge information on its server systems, the source said on condition of anonymity.

The request, reported Thursday by the London-based Financial Times, came at a closed-door meeting with all parties on July 27.

Microsoft declined to comment on the specifics of the request, citing the meeting's confidential nature. But spokesman Jim Desler told The Associated Press that "it makes perfect sense'' for the court to want the central issue of intellectual property to be "very clearly described.'' "We believe we have a very strong case and are pleased to have the opportunity to provide the court greater specificity on this important point,'' he said.